The Stafford – Balance
How wide is wide? How broad is broad?
The only way to know this is to rely on the official standard’s definition of balance.
- AKC says Balance is When all the parts of the dog, moving or standing, produce a harmonious image.
- OXFORD says Balance is an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady, a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions so that it does not fall.
SBTCA Official Definition:
Size, Proportion, Substance Height at shoulder: Height at shoulder: 14 to 16 inches.
Weight: Dogs, 28 to 38 lbs; Bitches, 24 to 34 lbs, these heights being related to weights.
The SBTCA definition does not discount all other definitions, it only gives parameters to that which those definitions most conform.
These heights being related to weights. Non-conformity with these limits is a fault.
Take 38 pounds of clay in one hand and the breed standard in the other.
Mold a dog that is 14-16 inches tall and slightly more than 14-16 inches long. Now make him look like everything the standard says he is supposed to be. Take each section of the standard and identify some of the main descriptors you have to work with: Hint: If you go too wide and too broad, you will run out of clay before the dog is finished!
The breed standard clearly defines ideal size, proportions, and substance which essentially tells us the proper balance between bull and terrier.
It is not personal!
Make no mistake; there is little room for personal interpretation of those descriptors, “deep,” “broad,” “wide,” “rather far apart.” The parameters of balance are handed to us in objective language, and our personal understanding of “deep,” “broad,” “wide,” and “rather far apart,” must comply with what the standard says about Proportion and Substance, and to a lesser degree, but still important, Size.
It is easy to say, “but you don’t measure and weigh your breed, how important can this be?” It is one of the four virtues! You do not have to weigh and measure to get an eye for a fit, balanced Stafford that roughly fits in these parameters. You might be surprised at what this looks like.
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it!
Please find all JEC materials available for free download on the JEC page on our SBTCA website.
